At BLD Marketing, we have honed a proven planning and research process to inform the most effective marketing efforts and results. We believe in it so much that we require our clients to participate in our planning process as a part of onboarding.

The goal of our planning and research activities is to gain deep insights into the attitudes and motivations of our clients’ specific target audiences to better understand what is needed for them to change their current specifying, purchasing, and usage behavior.

Assessing What’s Been Done and What is Needed

BLD initiates every relationship by having our client complete a detailed questionnaire to determine desired objectives and assess the current situation. We also gain access to all existing marketing materials including plans, campaigns, market research, and performance reporting.

On a parallel track, our content, social, and digital teams conduct audits to assess the current state of blogs, media relations, SEO performance, social media engagement and other marketing activities to identify gaps and make quick recommendations for improvement.

Setting a Roadmap for Client Success

A great client-agency relationship begins with setting clear and measurable goals. Together, we set both marketing and business goals with our building materials clients. We also develop 3–5-year visions and a roadmap to achieve a leadership position in the building materials industry.

Audience Insights & Market Research

Upon reviewing all existing market research, we identify gaps and deploy a set of tools for uncovering deep audience insights to inform our messaging and activation strategies. Internally, we moderate a series of focus groups consisting of cross-functional members of our client’s team. Externally, we conduct qualitative interviews with our client’s customers and prospects – including architects, interior designers, building owners, general contractors, dealers, DIYers, and more. Third, we tap into secondary research on industry trends and macro-economic data to uncover opportunities and set a direction.

We crystallize our learnings into a road map of customer journeys, audience personas, and audience task-mapping tools.

Uncovering the Meaningful Differentiation

All our learnings are organized into a message hierarchy, including value propositions and a brand promise that applies uniquely to each stakeholder. The development of brand attributes serves as a guide for creating creative concepts, content, social media, and other messaging opportunities. Key to this effort is establishing the unique selling proposition (USP), which is formed into a brand positioning statement. A creative brief distills the information further into a clear, concise guide for activation.

Bringing the Brand to Life

Using the message strategy and creative brief, the creative team develops an outward-facing message platform. We call this the Brand Manifesto. It is a concise illustration of the brand position meant to deliver inspiration and serve as the foundation for everything we do.

A Plan-on-a-Page

Before the development of a full plan, BLD Marketing develops a 1-page road map that sets goals, activity direction, KPIs and budget allocation by each stage of the customer decision-making process – from awareness through purchase or specification.

A Fully Integrated Plan

Our final planning deliverable is a fully integrated marketing communication (IMC) plan with the goal of enhancing and optimizing a building and construction client’s digital marketing ecosystem. Together, our discipline leaders collaborate and formulate a detailed marketing plan, budgets, timelines, and performance KPIs.

Digital Marketing Ecosystem Activation & Performance Optimization

Upon plan approval, BLD Marketing activates a performance-based campaign effort. A measurement rigor is set to monitor and report on performance from day one. Weekly status calls ensure accountability. A formal monthly reporting process provides the client with performance data, analysis, and recommendations for optimization while informal updates occur organically.

All these efforts have been proven to help our clients compete, win, and grow in the building and construction market. Contact us to uncover insights about a specific target audience or how to position your building materials brand.